It is a crossroads of worlds, or rather of continents to be precise, the recipe for Mussels Gratinate proposed this week to the readers of the food world by Massimo Giaquinta, chef of the Arab courtyard in Marzamemi, the charming seaside village at the southern end of Sicily where the Ionian Sea it merges with the Mediterranean Sea which has linked its history to the ancient tuna fishery. Active since Arab times and renovated over the years by the Prince of Villadorata who had the entire village built with two small ports, La Fossa and Balata, from which in the past the fishermen's ships left, even if the tuna fishery is still deactivated today, Marzamemi nevertheless preserves the seafaring soul of the village thanks to small artisan tuna and swordfish processing industries and the tradition of its food.
But it is not only the historical meeting between Sicily and Africa that is reflected in the recipe for mussels au gratin by Massimo Giaquinta, born in 84. There are also the origins of the imaginative Sicilian chef who in his dishes manages to skilfully mix his father's Sicilian gastronomic culture and the reminiscences of his mother's Kenyan one, aiming for an innovative cuisine that reverberates the flavors with dedication and technique through a great attention paid to the selection of raw materials and the skilful use of aromatic herbs but also focusing on combinations that only great culinary sagacity can combine.
There is his history and that of his family in his cuisine, a passion developed in the house of Monterosso Almo, a small town in the Iblean Mountains where every day he comes into contact with the cuisine of two different cultures: that of his grandmother, a strong woman who grew up in the period of the wars whose dishes represented tradition and total respect for the raw material and that of the African mother Kadija from Kenya who always put the foods of the earth on the table. A passion then developed together with his brothers in the kitchen stoves where their father Ciccio, the historic chef of numerous restaurants in the Ragusa area, worked.
“The starting point from which I take inspiration for my dishes – he says – is the research and collection of self-produced quality raw materials. For this reason, we try not to alter the flavor of the ingredients, taking care of all cooking methods, from low temperatures to wood-fired cooking, with various types of bark depending on the need, from carob wood to olive wood. For me, the teamwork necessary for the success of each service is fundamental. It is the main ingredient of all my creations." And the team includes his brother Giuseppe as sous chef, the maitre Antonio Fronterré and the sommelier Roberto Savarino.
Even the location of the Arab Courtyard, so called because of its structure with three entrances and exits which recalls Islamic urban planning, contributes to the charm of a highly evocative environment in which Massimo Giaquinta's charming cuisine underlines the close link between the sea and the population which permeates the narrow alleys, the ancient fishermen's houses, the factories, impregnated with the smell of salt that recall ancient and fascinating stories. A mix of Mediterranean and multiculturalism that makes the experience in this restaurant unique, which entered the Michelin Guide which underlined how "In one of the most enchanting and photogenic Sicilian villages, once a prosperous tuna factory, the Cortile Arabo offers refined cuisine of a good standard , mainly fish. The strong point is the terrace on the rocks facing the sea, where you eat accompanied by the lapping of the waves." And where you can taste dishes with a strong sensorial impact such as red prawn marinated in green tea, black cherry and yuzu, red tuna tartare, soil with extra virgin olive oil, cow's milk ricotta and cilieginok tomato jelly, cicada with figs and cucumber, sea bass with pepper rose and pomegranate jelly, plankton and snail caviar brittle, tomato salad with garlic and oyster ice cream and sardine pasta ice cream.
In this dish of mussels au gratin which differs considerably from the southern tradition, the essence of the multicultural contaminations absorbed since the cradle from which the Chef draws inspiration for traditional dishes interpreted in a modern and avant-garde key without ever being banal with a use is reflected. of refined ingredients, especially attentive to seasonality.

The recipe for mussels au gratin
Ingredients for 4 people:
Jerusalem artichoke foam:
300g Jerusalem artichokes
60g butter
bread croutons:
150g croutons
to taste extra virgin olive oil, garlic and oregano
sea urchin sauce:
100g curls
extra virgin olive oil to taste
Mussel au gratin:
24 mussels
to taste PGI tomato puree
100g Parmesan cheese
salt to taste oregano
400g breadcrumbs
Procedure:
Jerusalem artichoke foam:
– boil the root, blend and slowly add the melted butter.
– add salt and place in a siphon.
bread croutons:
-take some stale bread, create a cube
-bake at 180° for 10 minutes with oil, garlic and salt.
sea urchin sauce:
-pass the curls through a strainer and pour in a drizzle of oil and emulsify.
gratinated mussel:
-clean the mussels and cook them with oil and a clove of garlic until cooked
open
-remove the mussel from the carapace
-broil in the oven at 190° for 8 minutes, with breadcrumbs, oil and puree
tomato.
Plating
at the base of a deep plate, place the croutons, sea urchins,
fill with the Jerusalem artichoke foam, place 6 au gratin mussels and
garnish with sea urchin sauce and extra virgin olive oil.
Restaurant: Arab Courtyard
Villadorata alley
96018 Marzamemi (SR)
Tel. 0931 841678